Washington DC – Today, National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Bill Reinsch issued the following statement in response to the World Trade Organization (WTO) announcement that Mexico and Canada may impose $1 billion of combined retaliatory tariffs on imported U.S. products as a result of U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules.

“This decision by the WTO arbitrator is a vivid reminder of the costs of not complying with our international obligations. We have had literally years to fix this problem and have not done so, and now we face a billion dollar penalty. The House has acted responsibly by repealing the offending provision, and it is now time for the Senate to do the same thing without delay.”

The NFTC is a member of the COOL Reform Coalition, which advocates for U.S. compliance with WTO obligations.

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About the NFTCServing America's Global Businesses Since 1914- The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.